If Joss Whedon had never done "The Avengers", or the TV shows "Firefly", "Angel", or "Dollhouse", he should be considered a media god not for the whole "Buffy" series even, but simply for three episodes: "Hush", "The Body", and "Once More With Feeling".

You all are making me wanting to break out my Buffy box set over here!

I ignored the series when it was on air back when I was in highschool. It was a teenage girl cult following and I was to busy watching WWF/WWE. Then one morning I woke up earlier than normal and I couldn't fall asleep. I turned on the TV only to find nothing on. I happened upon an episode of Buffy where Andrew was sacrificing Johnathon. Liked it enough to buy the first season and got hooked.

If Joss Whedon had never done "The Avengers", or the TV shows "Firefly", "Angel", or "Dollhouse", he should be considered a media god not for the whole "Buffy" series even, but simply for three episodes: "Hush", "The Body", and "Once More With Feeling".

I haven't seen that episode in years and it still brings a tear to my eye. I can think of no other show that portrayed the loss of a loved one in such a raw and barren manner. The key was it wasn't a pile of overemoting dross, but somehow managed to capture the despair, resignation, and weariness of a real world loss. There was something ineffible on the screen that resonated with most every time I've actually witnessed or experienced such a loss.

It's tough to recommend it as a 'sampler' [in fact I find myself hesitant to even draw attention to it] because one really needs to live with these characters over the previous seasons to get the full impact, but it's one of the more indelible episodes of television I've ever seen.

Yeah, that's generally the episode I urge people to make it to before passing judgment on the show.

One of the more ironic facts about me is, I've seen every episode of Buffy, AND every episode of Bones, . . . never seen a second of Angel.

And I have the box sets of the first three seasons.

"Angel" starts slow, but it builds steam as it goes, and as they start introducing a few "Buffy" characters (Wesley, Cordelia, Spike). It gets a little weird and deep with the mythology and some various bizarre births, and goes into an alt-universe for a while (introducing the one "Angel"-unique actress, Amy Acker). Much like "Buffy", once you get past the first season the show really settles in and gets good. "Angel" also has some good episodes--nothing along the lines of the stuff from "Buffy" but creative nonetheless (my favorite is the one where Angel turns into a Muppett... trust me, it's better than it sounds, LOL). And "Angel" ends on a high note, if you're into pessimism. I'd definitely get to watching them. What's weird, though, is you have to remember that "Angel" started off at the end of Season 3 of "Buffy" (The Mayor). By the start of Season 4 (The Initiative) "Angel" was airing so, from that point on, the shows parallel and some cross-references are made (like when Buffy dies). And I believe "Angel" ran for another season (or two?) past "Buffy" so there's even some post-"Buffy" storylines (for example, you'd probably be wondering around now why I mentioned Spike).